Multiple record support for phonographs



June; 14, 1949. H. WALKER 2,472,964

MULTIPLE RECORD SUPPORT FOR PHQIiOGRAPI-IS v v Filed Dec. 28, 194 s Sheets-Sheet L June 14, 1949. H. WALKER MULTIPLE RECORD SUPPORT FOR PHONOGRAPHS S Shee'ts-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1943 Ju ne 14, 1949. H. WALKER 2,472,964

MULTIPLE RECORD SUPPORT FOR PHONOGRAPHS Filed Dec. 28, 1943 s Sheets-Sheet 5 age? Patented June 14, 1949 MULTIPLE RECORD SUPPORT FOR PHONOGRAPHS Harold Walker, 'Meadowbrook, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to 'Philco ,Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa, a :corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 28, 1943, Serial No. 515,959

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to phonographs, more particularly to an improved'multiple record player or record changer for phonographs of the-auto matic type. The invention, moreover, is especially concerned'with a record supporting mechanism which may be loaded with a plurali-tyof recordsto be played, the mechanism being -'arranged to successivelydeliver the records to the turntable in an automatic manner.

Manydifierent typesof record changers have already been used and proposed for use, but at least most of them are subject to a number of disadvantages and-difliculties of types mentioned below.

In one common prior type of mechanism a stackof records was supported above the turntable, centered on the turntable spindle, the recordsof the stack being supported directly one upon another. In many arrangements of this type the records are successively released .for der scent to the turntable by a pair of knife"de.vices arranged toward opposite sides of the turntable, the knife blades being rotatable about vertical axes and so arranged that one pair of knives moves between the two lowermost records of the stack when'the lowest one is being dropped to the turntable. In this way the remainder of the stack remains supported above the turntable, while the dropped record is being played. Disadvantages of this type of mechanism arise from the fact that the recordsare not all of uniform thickness and, moreover, are quite frequently warped, as a result of which the knife blades frequently chip 'the'edges of the records and even break records, 'for instance, in cases where a particularly badly warped record is encountered,

In accordance with another common type of multiple record support sometimes called the push-.ofi type, a stack of records is threaded upon a turntable spindle. The mechanism for successively dropping the records to the turntable, in atleast certain arrangements, operates in such a manner that the record is pushed against the spindle with a substantial force, thereby tending to enlarge the center hole of the record. Moreover, in this type, the records frequently commence their descent to the turntable in an inclinedposition, whichalso tends to promote wearing of the center holeof the record. As is well understood, enlargement of the center hole is a 'seriousdisadvantage because 'of the inaccurate reproduction which occurs from a'record which is not running true.

Some of the primary objects of the invention are concernecl with. overcoming difficulties and disadvantages of the types mentioned above, and to do this by means of a mechanism which is effective and reliable in operation and which is composed of readily fabricated parts.

According to the invention, provision is made for individually supporting a plurality of records above the turntable by means of a plurality of independent record supporting shelves or plates which are spaced from each other a distance sufficient .toaccommodaterecords of different thickness as well as records which may be more or less warped.

The invention provides for the individual and independentsupportof each record in horizontal position *coaxially of the turntable axis and spindle,the record releasebeing efiected in a manner to drop each record in a truly horizontal positioni'an'd thereby avoid wear of the centerizhole.

According to-another feature of the invention, provision is made for quick and convenient loading from-a position directly above the turntable, and without :the necessity for. displacing actuating arms .or other parts of the mechanism.

With the foregoinggeneral statement of objects and-advantages-in mind, attention is now-directed to thelfollowing descriptionof a preferred embodiment, during which description additional objects :and advantages will .appearas the more or less specific details of themechanism are un- .derstood.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a phonograph incorporating the mechanism of the present invention, withcertain parts removed for the sake of illustration;

Figure 25is an ele'vational view of various parts of 'the'mechanism, the view being taken in the direction indicated by the line 2-2 on Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a. vertical sectional view through a record :supporting mechanism constructed according to the :invention, this view being on a substantially enlarged scale "as compared with Figures 1 'andz2 :and being taken generally in a radial plane containing the'axisof the turntable;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating a different position of cer-' tain parts; and

Figure5isa horizontal sectional view takenas indicated by the line 55 on "Figure 3, the view, howevenbeing on a somewhatreduced scale.

As seen :in Figures .1 and 2, various of the phonograph parts-.aremounted on a beset. The turntable .isxshown at 1 and its spindle at'8. At diametrically opposite-positions a pair ofrecord supporting :pos'ts 9-'-9 are arranged, each, of

these posts serving to carry a plurality of record supporting shelves as will further appear. The tone arm is shown at Hi, the tone arm being pivoted as at I l on the base and carrying a suitable pick-up l2, adapted to cooperate with records on the turntable. For automatic cyclic operation, the motions of the tone arm may be controlled by a cycling cam, the outline of which appears at |3 in Figure 1, the same being shown in elevation in Figure 2. It will be understood that an appropriate drive is provided for the turntable and also that switches or other controls such as shown in outline at- M are ordinarily provided but the details of these parts, and also of features such as the cycling cam and its action in moving the tone arm, need not be considered herein, since such features form no part of the present invention per se. The cycling cam and its operating mechanism, and the arrangement for moving the tone arm by rotation of the cam, may be of the general character disclosed in the Cranmer et a1. application, Serial No. 407,788, filed August 21, 1941, now Patent No. 2,339,981 granted January 25, 1944.

The record supporting posts 9 and 9 are similar in construction and operation, and in Fig. 1 the elements of post 9' have been designated by primed numerals. In the subsequent description, reference is made to post 9 for convenience and simplicity. Each of the record supporting posts 9 comprises a pair of uprights (Figure 2) which are connected at their lower ends by means of a plate l6, and at the top by a cross-tie ll. Each post unit is mounted on the base 5 by means of a pair of guides l8 providing for guided movement of the post toward and away from the turntable, this arrangement being provided in order to accommodate records of different sizes. Each post may be retained in adjusted position by means of a locking device I9.

Between the uprights i5 of each post a plurality of plates 20 are arranged, the plates being spaced from each other and superimposed in a series to receive rear'wardly projecting tongues Zia formed as parts of the record supporting shelves 2|. As best seen in Figure 5, the plan pattern of the record supporting shelves is such as to cooperate with the record over an appreciable arc thereof adjacent the periphery. Records R are shown supported by certain of the upper shelves 2| in both Figures 2 and 3. From examination of Figure 3 in particular it will be seen that each of the record supporting shelves is arranged between a pair of the mounting plates 20 with freedom for sliding movement toward and away from the axis of the turntable. The upper shelves in Figure 3 are in record supporting or advanced position, whereas the lower shelves in Figure 3 are in non-supporting or retracted position. It will further be observed that the mounting of the shelves 2| provides freedom for limited angular oscillation of the shelves, for

which purpose upper and lower projections defining pivot points are provided on the shelves,

as indicated at 22 and 23, respectively (see also 7 Figure 5).

Attention is now called to the fact that the rearward projections Zia of the shelves 2| are provided adjacent their rear corners with tabs 24 which serve as stop members adapted to engage behind complementary stops 25 (see Figures 3 and 5), the several stop members 25 being arranged in a series spaced from each other. Such stop members may conveniently be formed by notching a pair of strips 26, which strips are 4 mounted on the post as is clearly seen in Figures 2 and 3.

Turning again to the movement of the record supporting shelves between advanced and retracted positions, it is now pointed out that springs 21, one for each shelf, arranged alternately at opposite sides of the post, serve to urge the shelves to advanced position. In advanced position, the tabs 24 at the rear edge of the shelf enter the notches 28 which intervene between the series of stops 25. On the other hand when a shelf is in retracted position, for instance the second shelf from the bottom in Figure 3, the tabs 24 engage behind the cooperating stops 25, this position being maintained by virtue of the forward and. downward inclination of the associated spring 21.

During the various motions of the record supporting shelves, especially the angular oscillatory movement thereof, the pivot projections 22 and 23 cooperate with the fixed mounting plates 20, above and below, in maintaining appropriate spacing between the shelves and also in facilitating free shelf movement.

According to the invention, mechanism is provided for controlling the action of the shelves, this mechanism including a sliding bar 29 arranged to pass through apertures formed in both the fixed mounting plates 20 and in the record supporting shelves 2|, such apertures being indicated at 30 and 3|, respectively, in Figures 3 and 4. The apertures in' the plates 20 serve as a guide for the bar 29 and, as will plainly be seen from the mid-portion of Figure 3, the apertures in the record supporting shelves are so located as to be in part out of registry'with those in the fixed plates 20 when the record supporting shelves are in advanced position. Note now that the upper end of the bar 29 has an inclined face 32 arranged to cooperate With rear edges of the apertures 3| in the record supporting shelves and thereby retract the shelves as the bar 29 is moved upwardly.

During this upward movement of the bar 29, as the shelves are retracted, the springs 21 act to oscillate the shelves into positions in which the stop-tabs 24 engage behind stops 25. This action proceeds in step-by-step fashion under the control of mechanism described herebelow. The step-by-step movement of bar 29 results in successive dropping of the records R. onto the turntable. It may here be noted that the turntable spindle is desirably of height sufficient to engage in the center holes of all of the records carried by the posts 9, in order that the records will be properly guided in their descent to the table.

When the bar 29 reaches the upper limit of its stroke, i. e., when all of the records have been dropped to the turntable, the bar may be withdrawn downwardly, which action will not cause the record supporting shelves to move outwardly to advanced position because of the inter-engagemerit of the stop-tabs 24 with the stops 2%. However, upon reaching the lowermost position, the lowermost record supporting shelf 2| will be free to move inwardly to record supporting position because of the fact that no stops 25 are provided for this one shelf of the series. The reason for this will be clear from the discussion of Figure 4 just below:

Figure 4 shows the bar 29 in lowermost position, the full line showing of the bottom shelf 2| indicating that this shelf is in advanced position, which is in contrast with all of the others which are at that time held retracted. In this condition, the posts. are ready to be loaded, with a groupof records to be played. To accomplish loadingth group of records may beheld above the turntable in position to descend on the turntable spindle. The first record is then released and descends to rest upon the lowermost shelves 2! of the two posts. As. is shown in Figure 4 the weight of this first record RI causes the lowermost shelf 2| to oscillate somewhat to. th position indicated at 2122, in which the rear end of the projection Zlais raised. This brings abutments. as (see also Figure 5.) into engagement with the underside of thenexthigher shelf, thereby oscillating the next higher shelf to the position indicated at 2 la inwhich it is disengaged from the st0ps'25. The spring 24! associated with this plate may now move this shelf to advanced position, as indicated at Md. The second shelf isthus tripped by the placing of a record on the first. In turn, the third is similarly tripped by the placing ofa record on the second, and so forth through the series.

An extremely simple, rapid and efiective loading system is thus provided. It is also of convenience that the loadin may be accomplished from above the turntable and without the swingme back or displacement of any control arms or other parts ofthe mechanism.

After completion of the loading, the control bar 29- is moved upwardly as above described in order-to successively drop the records on the turntable. The controlled upward movement of bar 29; according to the invention, is advantageously brought about by mechanism under the general control of the usualcycling cam with which automatic phonographs are provided, such a cam being shown at la in Figure 2. For the above piupose a lower extension 29;; of the bar 29 is provided with ratchet teeth 34 with which a toothed ratchet member 35 cooperates. The member 35 is pivoted as at 36 to a link 31 which in turn is pivotally carried at 38- on a fixed bracket 39. The link 3] may be raised by, an arm 40 fixed to a shaft 4| (see also Figure 1), the arm 4!! being coupled with link3l by another pivoted link 42. Shaft 4! ha another arm 43.fixed thereto, which is extended adjacent to the cycling cam is. and carries a cam follower 44 adapted to ride on the cam itself and tobe actuated by the cam projection 45,. With these parts arranged as just described, downward swinging of arm 43, when actuated by cam projection 45, causes the linkage 4-8 42 to lift ratchet 35 thereby raising the bar 29.

As is known in this art, cycling cams such as shown at [3, in Figure 2 are arranged to be actuated in. timed relation to the playin of the records. The invention contemplates that the arm dilshall be actuated at a time just following withdrawal of the tone arm. and this actuation of arm 4.3 raises the ratchet 35 and thereby lifts the control bar 29, to release another record for descent tothe turntable. The bar 29 is retained in its. new position by means of a toothed catch .5. adapted to cooperate with the ratchet teeth the catch, 46. bein formed as a part of the pivoted arm 4i, which arm is biased to its upper position by means of, a tension spring 48. Each time theratchet 3 5 is raised, the catch 46 will be displaced andsnap into thenext lower ratchet notch of control bar extension 29;.

When. the control bar has been moved stepby step to its uppermost position, it may be reas d. r turn. m v me qw ar lr shown in clotted outline in Fig. 5.

control'linkage such as shown at 49, which, upon downward movement, for instance manually, will disengage not only the holding pawl 41. but also the stepping pawl 35, whereupon the return spring 533 will draw the control bar downwardly to condition the record supportin posts for re-loading. Prior to re-loading, however, the previously played group of records should be lifted from the turntable, since, upon downward movement of the control bar the lowermost pair of record supporting shelves will again be moved to advanced position and would thus interfere with removal of records from the turntable.

It should be observed that various of the actuating and control parts are duplicated for each of the record supporting posts, although a single transverse operating shaft 4! (see Figure 1) serves to couple both posts with the cycling cam [3.

As mentioned above, each of the posts, including the actuating bar 29, is adjustable suficiently to permit the use of different sized records, e. g. ten and twelve inch records. Accordingly the post is mounted in an elongated opening as shown at 5! in the upper right-hand corner of Fig. 1. In this illustration the uprights and shelves of the record support structure are removed to show the adjustable mounting more clearly.

Since pawl members 35 and Mi are supported by the bracket 39 which is fixedly secured to the base plate 6, the said members are so formed as to permit adjustment of the posts while still maintaining engagement between the pawl members and the ratchet teeth. The stepping pawls and associated elements are shown in dotted outline in Fig. 1 (see particularly the right-hand post structure). The pawl 35 is of extended length and has integral arms 52 and. 53 secured by pivot pin 36 to links 3? which in turn are pivotally secured to depending arms E l of bracket 33. Arm 53 is further extended and is connected to the release member 49 through a pin and slot connection, as shown in Fig. 2.

The holding pawl and associated elements are This pawl is also of extended length and has integral arms 55 pivotally secured to the arms 54 of the bracket 39. The pawl also has an arm 5% which is connected to the release member 4% through a pin and slot connection as shown in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that a multiple record support has been provided of a type having a number of advantages as compared with various arrangements of the prior art. The action of the record supporting shelves which are carried by the posts is such as to have no tendency to damage the records during operation, either by chipping or scratching. Moreover, the records are individually carried by pairs of independent supportin shelves, rather than being stacked one directly upon another, which is also of importance in avoiding damage to the records. The arrangement of the record supporting shelves and the action thereof is also such as to dropeach record in a truly horizontal position, without any tendency to cant the record, and without any tendency to push the record against the turntable spindle. Wear of the center holes of the records is thereby avoided.

In addition to the foregoing it may be mentionedthat the severai parts of which the posts are composed are of types which are veryreadily fabricated and assembled. The mechanism isalsounusually reliable in operationand noteasily subieotto damage or misadjustment, in view of 7 which servicing and repair are reduced to a minimum.

I claim:

1. In a phonograph having a turntable, mechanism for supporting a record above the turntable and for releasing the record for descent to the turntable comprising a record supporting shelf and mounting means for the shelf including a substantially horizontal guideway providing for guided horizontal movement of the shelf between a record supporting or advanced position and a non-supporting or retracted position, the shelf further being mounted with freedom for limited angular oscillation when in retracted position, and stop means adapted to be engaged by the shelf upon oscillation thereof in one direction and serving to prevent horizontal movement of the shelf to its advanced position.

2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 and further including yielding means for urging the shelf toward its advanced position upon oscillation of the shelf in the direction disengaging the stop means.

3. In a phonograph having a turntable, mechanism for supporting a record above the turntable and for releasing the record for descent to the turntable comprising a record supporting shelf and mounting means for the shelf including a substantially horizontal guideway providing for guided horizontal movement of the shelf between a record supporting or advanced position and a non-supporting or retracted position, yielding means for urging the shelf toward its advanced position, the shelf further being mounted with freedom for limited angular oscillation, stop means adapted to be engaged by the shelf upon oscillation of the shelf in one direction when the shelf is in retracted position, which stop means thereupon serve to prevent horizontal movement of the shelf to its advanced position, and means for oscillating the shelf to disengage it from the stop means and thereby provide for movement of the shelf to its advanced position under the influence of said yieldin means.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 3, incorporating a plurality of shelves as defined in claim 3, the shelves being arranged in superimposed relation to give support to a plurality of superimposed records, and means automatically operative upon the placing of a record upon one shelf to disengage the next higher shelf from its cooperating stop means, whereby in loading the shelves with a plurality of records, the placement of a record on one shelf conditions the next higher shelf to receive the following record.

5. In an automatic phonograph, a turntable, a plurality of similar record-supporting structures adapted to support a group of records above the turntable, said structures furnishing the only support for the records, each of said supporting structures including a plurality of superimposed record supports each adapted to engage one of the records, each of said supports being movable from a supporting position to a non-supporting position, spring means urging each support to its supporting position, and means for moving the corresponding supports of said supporting structures to their non-supporting positions in upward progression to cause successive dropping of the supported records onto the turntable.

6. In an automatic phonograph, a turntable, aplurality of record-supporting structures adapted to support a group of records above the turntable, each of said supporting structures including a plurality of superimposed relatively spaced recordsupporting shelves each adapted to engage one of the records, whereby the records are individually supported in superimposed spaced relation, each record being supported by corresponding shelves of said supporting structures, each of said shelves being movable between supporting and non supporting positions, means urging each shelf to its supporting position, means for moving the corresponding shelves of said supporting structures to their non-supporting positions in upward progression to cause successive dropping of the supported records onto the turntable, means for latching each shelf in its non-supporting position, excepting the lowermost shelf of each supportin structure, and means whereby the corresponding shelves of said supporting structures are released in upward progression during reloading.

7. In an automatic phonograph, a turntable, a plurality of record-supporting structures adapted to support a group of records above the turntable, each of said supporting structures including a plurality of superimposed relatively spaced record-supporting shelves each adapted to engage one of the records, whereby the records are individually supported in superimposed spaced relation, each record being supported by correspondin shelves of said supporting structures, each of said shelves being movable between supporting and non-supporting positions, means urging each shelf to its supporting position, means for moving the corresponding shelves of said supporting structures to their non-supporting positions in upward progression to cause successive dropping of the supported records onto the turntable, means for latching each shelf in its non-supporting position, excepting the lowermost shelf of each supporting structure, and means on each shelf operative when a record is placed thereon to release the next higher shelf, whereby the corresponding shelves of said supporting structures are released in upward progression during reloading.

8. In an automatic phonograph, a turntable, a plurality of record-supporting structures adapted to support a group of records above the turntable, each of said supporting structures including a plurality of superimposed relatively spaced record-supporting shelves each adapted to engage one of the records, whereby the records are individually supported in superimposed spaced relation, each record being supported by corresponding shelves of said supporting structures, each of said shelves being movable between supporting and non-supporting positions, each shelf further being capable of rocking movement, means operative as a consequence of the rocking movement to latch each shelf in its non-supporting position, excepting the lowermost shelf of each supporting structure, means for moving the corresponding shelves of said supporting structures to their non-supporting positions in upward progression to cause successive dropping of the supported records onto the turntable, means for rocking each shelf when it is free of the associated record whereby to effect latching of the shelves as aforesaid, and means on each shelf operative to release the next higher shelf when rocked oppositely by the weight of a record, whereby the corresponding shelves of said supporting structures are released in upward progression during reloading.

9. A multiple record supporting and releasing mechanism for a phonograph, comprising a plurality of spaced superimposed mounting plates, a

plurality of apertured record-supporting shelves mounted respectively between consecutive pairs of the plates with freedom for sliding movement between a record supporting or advanced position and non-supporting or retracted position, and an actuating member movable step-by-step into the apertures of the shelves and having an inclined face adapted to cooperate with the shelf apertures to successively retract the shelves according to the step-by-step movement of the actuating member.

10. A multiple record supporting and releasing mechanism for a phonograph, comprising a plurality of spaced superimposed mounting plates, a plurality of apertured record-supporting shelves mounted respectively between consecutive pairs of the plates with freedom for sliding movement between a record supporting or advanced position and a non-supporting or retracted position, yielding means adapted to urge the shelves toward advanced position, and an actuating member movable step-by-step into the apertures of the shelves and having an inclined face adapted to cooperate with the shelf apertures to successively retract the shelves according to the stepby-step movement of the actuating member.

11. In a phonograph having a turntable, a record supporting post carrying a plurality of superimposed record supports arranged to give support to a plurality of records above the turntable, the post being movable toward and away from the turntable to accommodate records of different sizes, and control means for actuating the record supports including operating means incorporating a connection accommodating the movement of the post toward and away from the turntable, in which the operating means for the record supports includes notched and toothed members having cooperating surfaces paralleling the path of movement of the post, one of said members being movable with respect to the other upon movement of the post, and one of said members havin its cooperating surface extended sufliciently to insure engagement with the other member in different positions of the post.

HAROLD WALKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

